Grandpa’s Radio

Kim was at her grandfather’s house, helping him to clear out the attic. She was holding a box of old things, and there was so much dust that she had to cough. At the bottom, wrapped in a blanket, she found a small blue radio.

“Grandpa, what is this?” Kim asked, holding it up to the light of the small window. “That’s my old radio,” he said from the doorway. “I think it’s been broken for years.” He smiled, but his eyes looked sad, and Kim decided not to ask any more.

That night Kim took the radio to her room, wiped off the dust and plugged it in. To her surprise, there was an old tape inside. She pressed the big button. First there was a song, and then a man’s voice said, “Hello, Anna. Today you are five years old.”

Kim ran downstairs with the radio in her arms. “Grandpa! Who is Anna?” He looked at her for a long moment. “That’s your mother,” he said. “And that is my voice. I made that tape for her on her birthday.” His eyes were wet.

Grandpa and Kim sat together and listened to the whole tape, which lasted ten minutes. When it ended, he said quietly, “Tomorrow, we can make a tape for you.” Kim smiled. “Yes, please! I have a lot to say.”